Denver Broncos

Wes Welker bringing Broncos with him on return to New England

By Joan Niesen The Denver Post

Posted:
11/23/2013 12:01:00 AM MST

Wide receiver Wes Welker and quarterback Peyton Manning have been smiling a lot in their first season as NFL teammates. Welker leads the Broncos in receptions (61) in their 9-1 start. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

This must be Wes Welker's worst nightmare.

Not his concussion, though that was certainly a worry. Not getting an opportunity to play against his former team, though that too had to be in the back of his mind.

No, this is Welker's worst nightmare because he has to talk about it all, about his rattled brain and his friend, Tom Brady and heaven forbid, emotion. See, you can take the player out of the Patriots, but you can't quite take the Patriots out of the player.

Welker, the Broncos' slot receiver, practiced in full Friday after passing all of the tests regarding his concussion, which he suffered last weekend against Kansas City. He would be classified as "definite" for the game at New England on Sunday, if such a classification existed, according to Broncos coach Jack Del Rio. In reality, he's listed as "probable" for Sunday, when he will line up against a defense dotted with former teammates. Of the Patriots' 11 starters, eight played with Welker in 2012 in New England.

Welker's feelings toward this game go deeper than just defensive matchups. It was with New England that he came into his own. Undrafted out of Texas Tech, he spent three years in San Diego and Miami. New England acquired him in a trade before the 2007 season and, paired with Brady, he became one of the NFL's elite wide receivers.

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Now, separated for the first time in six seasons, Brady said the two will be friends for the rest of their lives.

Now, close to 2,000 miles from Foxborough, Mass., and his former team, Welker joked that this week, they're "pretty much enemies."

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) eyes New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker (83) in the endzone Welker scored a touchdown on the play in an AFC division playoff game against the Denver Broncos on Jan. 14, 2012 at Gillette Stadium. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

But really, it's lip service. Welker and Brady are two of the NFL's most intense players, and Peyton Manning is right there with them. Welker's tone fluctuated only once when discussing his former team, becoming a little higher-pitched, a little more urgent when he said how much it would mean to be playing Sunday. For him, though, it's as much about competition as it is emotion, just as it will be for Brady, just as it was for Manning when he returned to Indianapolis.

"I'm sure it will be (strange), a little bit," Welker said of his return. "But it's another game, another field. It's still the same size and everything else. I'm familiar with it, so that's an advantage for sure."

"There's definitely some (games) down the stretch that can put you in position for later on in the season, and this is definitely one of those games against a really good team. We have to make sure that we're coming out and playing the way we need to be to have a chance to win."

Welker is approaching Sunday's game in a matter-of-fact manner, just as the Broncos treated his acquisition. Asked to recall his reaction on that day in March when he learned the signing was a go, Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase offered little emotion beyond a slight bugging of the eyes. There's no place for hyperbole here, for acting like Welker was some heaven-sent prize. He was — and is — a solution, the man who filled this offense's last remaining hole as a slot receiver.

"I know we had a little bit of a void there," Gase said. "We weren't really sure what we were going to do with the slot position. There was still, 'Is it (Brandon) Stokley? Do we move (Eric) Decker inside and use (Andre Caldwell) more on the outside?' We were just trying to figure out what our best move was, and then when that got brought up that we at least had an idea of what we could do if we had a player of his ability."

What's been painted all week as a tearful reunion sounds in Gase's words more like a mathematical equation. So much for legacy, for import, for relationships. Welker, he of the nine touchdowns — already tying his season high — and 648 yards, is just a solution to a problem.

Welker's work

You undoubtedly knew Wes Welker as a New England Patriot before he arrived in Denver this year, but you might not know his whole NFL journey after going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2004.

San Diego: The Chargers signed Welker as an undrafted rookie. He made the team out of training camp, only to be cut after the first game.

Miami: The Dolphins picked up Welker after he was cut and designated him for use mostly on special teams. In his second year in Miami, he started getting time at receiver, and in 2006 he had 67 receptions for 687 yards and one touchdown.

New England: The Patriots traded for Welker before the 2007 season, and in his first year with New England, he had 112 receptions for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns. His best season came in 2011, when he had 122 receptions for 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns.

Denver: In his first season with the Broncos, who are 9-1, Welker has 61 receptions for 648 yards and nine TDs.